Last Updated on March 5, 2024
Image source: allthatsinteresting.com
Many women who are married to outlaws live in constant fear of the possible repercussions of their husband’s heinous acts.
Some manage to leave their marriages before things take a turn for the worse. But others prefer to stay put, clinging on to the hope that their villainous partners will turn over a new leaf someday.
Pablo Escobar belongs in the latter category, and this article delves into her life as Mrs. Escobar and how she’s coping following her husband’s fall from grace.
Who Is Pablo Escobar?
Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was a Colombian drug lord and narcoterrorist best known for founding and serving the sole leader of the once-dreaded Medellín Cartel.
Escobar is widely regarded as the wealthiest and most notorious criminal in the history of organized crime. The King of Cocaine, as he was famously known, had a staggering net worth of USD 30 billion as at the time of his death, which works out as $70 billion in today’s dollars.
The bulk of Pablo Escobar’s wealth came from the cocaine trade. During the ‘80s and early-‘90s, Escobar was the leading cocaine supplier in the United States, with his business often accounting for over 80% of all cocaine sold in the States.
However, Pablo Escobar’s dark criminal life caught up with him and he surrendered to authorities in 1991. He was subsequently sentenced to five years in prison but escaped the following year. A nationwide manhunt ensued and Escobar was eventually killed in 1993 in his hometown by the Colombian National Police.
Who Was Pablo Escobar Married To?
Pablo Escobar was married to a woman named Maria Victoria Henao.
Henao was born in 1961 in Palmira, Colombia. She met her future husband in her teenage years. But despite all the odds, she eventually married him and went on to have beautiful children together.
How Did Maria Henao and Pablo Escobar Meet?
Maria Henao met her future husband when she was only 12 years old. Escobar was 23 years old then.
However, the glaring age difference between Maria and Pablo was no barrier to their relationship. That’s especially considering that Escobar gorged her with all the warmth and affection one would only expect from a Prince Charming.
As Henao would reveal in later interviews, Escobar worked exceedingly hard to win her heart. He showered her with gifts and occasionally serenaded her with romantic ballads. And as expected of any naïve 12-year-old, she eventually gave in to his advances.
Soon after they officially became a romantic couple, Maria and Pablo’s relationship turned sexual. Their sexual escapades led to conception and Henao gave birth aged 14 years.
However, both Pablo Escobar and his partner were unprepared for kids at that time. He scheduled for an abortion at a back-alley clinic, subjecting his young lover to excruciating pain.
But despite this ordeal, Henao married Escobar a year later.
What Was Maria Henao and Pablo Escobar’s Marriage Like?
Maria Henao married Pablo Escobar in March 1976. She was 15 years old while her older husband was 26.
Henao’s parents vehemently discouraged her relationship with Pablo Escobar and her eventual decision to walk down the aisle with him. They considered Escobar socially inferior as his father was a watchman.
But determined to follow her heart, Henao eloped with Escobar and began living as a couple. They were later blessed with two children – Juan Pablo and Manuela.
However, Maria Henao’s marital bliss was rather short-lived as she soon learnt that her affectionate husband was the farthest thing from the gentleman exterior he often projected.
Suspicion began to build when Escobar would be gone for longer periods and return with huge sums of money. While Maria publicly enjoyed the high life that her husband treated her to, she spent her alone time crying and wishing he could ditch his criminal life.
Things took a turn for the worse when Pablo Escobar began sleeping around. Henao later claimed that her husband met most of his mistresses in a ‘bachelor pad’ he had built in his own house.
At some point in their marriage, Henao and her children could only visit her husband blindfolded. This was the clearest indication that Escobar had crossed a few red lines and was already a marked man.
In 1993, Escobar suggested that Henao and her children move to a government-protected safehouse. It turns out that the drug lord’s hunch was right as he was killed a few months later.
Why Did Maria Henao Endure Her Husband’s Cruelty?
They say ‘every villain has a good side.’ And Pablo Escobar perfectly exemplifies this proverb.
Despite being arguably the most ruthless drug lord in history, Escobar was a loving and responsible husband. There’s not a single occasion that Henao claimed she was brutalized by him. That explains why she chose to stay put despite strongly disagreeing with his criminal life.
Maria continues to profess her love for Pablo to this day.
What Became Of Henao After Escobar’s Demise?
Pablo Escobar’s death was celebrated globally. But for Maria Henao and her two children, the pain of losing a loving husband and father was overwhelming. Even so, they could only grieve in silence.
When the Colombian police began rounding up what was left of Escobar’s fast-crumbling empire, Henao and her children packed and fled the country. However, they encountered numerous challenges as few nations were willing to welcome them with open arms. Germany and Mozambique are among the countries that denied them asylum.
Maria and her children eventually settled in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She subsequently changed her name to Victoria Henao Vallejos, then Maria Isabel Santos Caballero, and later to Victoria Eugenia Henao.
But being the widow of an infamous drug lord, trouble would later follow Maria Henao while in Argentina. She and her son were arrested in 1999 on money laundering suspicion and subsequently imprisoned for several months.
After her release, Henao gave a statement claiming her arrest was sheer witch-hunt and a cunning scheme by the Argentinian government to portray itself as fighting crime.
Where Is Maria Henao Right Now?
Maria Henao still lives in Argentina. She managed to keep a low profile for nearly two decades following her 1999 imprisonment.
Henao recently burst into the spotlight after going public on her life as Mrs. Escobar. She has since authored a book detailing her experience living with the drug lord, titled, “Mrs. Escobar: My Life with Pablo.”